Hi all, Just an update, I haven't received anything back from Lowell's yet, but did get the standard "they said its correct so it's staying" email from Experian. Will be back to post more updates- not been much to tell you as if yet!

Yeah, it didn't sound right to me really. But will I still get most of the information I need with the SAR anyway?

They said a SAR was fine, but a CCA could be seen as acknowledgement...

Just a quick update, I've sent SAR letters to BH and Lowell today. I spoke with someone at the National Debt line who advised I just sent SAR letters and not a CCA at this stage, as sometimes that can be used as an acknowledgement of the debt. Just a case of sitting tight now and seeing what happens. I'm going to keep this thread as up to date as I can so other people can follow it through from begining to end. It's a shame a lot of the posters who start threads don't come back and keep them updated as it's a real big help for people to be able to learn from others experiences. Thanks for all the advice so far!

Thanks for the replies guys, I think I'm going to hold out and see what the SAR and CCA letters bring back. If I got the default moved to 90 days after the last payment, wouldn't that remove it from my credit file (if it was over six years ago)? Also, sorry, but what is a "brig letter"?

Sorry, I don't think I'm being very clear. Let me give a bit of background:- In 2006 I purchased a car on finance through Black Horse. After less than a year, I lost my job and knew I was going to have problems repaying the finance, I contacted Black Horse. It was explained to me that I could simply return the car, and the sale would cover the remaining finance. A few months after I returned the car, I was contacted about an outstanding debt with BH. I explained that I returned the car, but was told there was still an outstanding balance of over £9000 to settle. I disputed this of course and didn't hear anything for quite some time. Since then, every 12 months or so I have been contacted by different DCA's chasing the payment. Each time I have told them I don't owe any money, and that this is an error. Then I don't hear anything for months. I recently signed up to credit expert, saw this 'default' and now want it sorting once and for all. At the moment, I am applying for credit, and this being on my file is of course causing issues. In answer to your questions, I didn't say that the account closed in 2007, I said that the last payment I would've made was in 2007. I don't have any experience in this kind of thing, so I'm sorry if its not making sense!

Cheers Imp, Will get the letters ready to roll and send them once I've heard back from Experian. You never know, Lowells might admit that it's all an error straight away ()

Just taken another look at it and the history only goes back to March 2012.

Thanks dx, I signed up for Noddle but it looks like the free version only shows the score number and no other details. I already pay for Experian and Equifax so don't really fancy paying for another CRA Service. Will the SAR and CCA letters help me find out the actual default date?

Hi DX, The account was opened in Feb 2006 with BH. I can't remember for sure, but my last payment would've been in early 2007. The default date is Feb 2010, so I can only assume Lowells bought it from BH at some point after that date... Perhaps BH changed the date to make it a more appealing purchase to Lowells!?

Just got off the phone with Experian again. They have contacted Lowell, but no response so far. The bloke on the phone said that the default date would have been provided to Lowell by BH. Thanks for the advice Brig, I'll get the SAR and CCA letters sent out.

Funnily enough, when I last spoke to Experian, I asked if it is possible to go back to before 2010 on my file and was told no. I can only go back as far as when I signed up to Credit Expert, which is understandable, but I would've thought they could look back further. Apparently not. I'm intrigued as to what was there before then as I suspect the alleged debt would be SB'd by now. I actually dispute the debt in it's entirety, but thought having the default date corrected would at least remove it from my file as I am currently applying for credit and this is causing me problems. When I get an email back from Experian, I'll start up a thread of my own.

Yes I've been trawling through these forums since I discovered the default and noticed this is quite common! I have raised a query with Experian, who have contacted Lowell for me to investigate. I'm fully expecting the standard "we asked the, they said it's correct" response though. I've actually called Lowell, Black Horse and Experian about it over a month ago, who said they would all look into it for me, but no one got back to me.

Hi Imp, Thanks for the reply! The default is under the new owners name, Lowell Portfolio. The original account was with Black Horse.

Hi everyone, How did you go about finding out the true default date Mine is down as 2010 for an account that closed in 07 so I'm sure something fishy is going on!